Shenanigans
by the-hippie-whittlers
Summary: Naruhina Sasusaku Next generation fic. Rokudaime Naruto is hiding something about his daughter from the whole village. But before he can confess, something very strange happens...
1. Hina chan's Day Off

SOME THINGS YOU HAVE TO KNOW FIRST:

yo no own-o naruto...yeah. I hope you all can figure that out. i really don't make ANY muulah/ cashola/ benjamin's/ dough/ greenbacks/ MONEY off this either. but I'm sure we could work something out...

Family terminology: FOR EVERYONE WHO WRITES, PLEASE USE THIS!!! THEY ARE 100 PERCENT CORRECT!! (I go to Japanese school every saturday!)

Otou-san- father

Okaa-san- mother

Onii-chan- brother

Onee-chan- sister

Oba-san- aunt

Oji-san- uncle

Obaa-san- grandma

Ojii-san- grandpa

(note: the suffixes can be changed reglarly, with -san, -sama, -chan etc... and the 'O' in front can be taken off. like the difference between 'mother' and 'mom')

So, ON WITH THE SHOW!!!

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Shenanigans -- Chapter ONE:

Hina-chan's Day Off

"Okay, Okay. But this would the first real time i'd leave her alone since she learned how to walk!"

"Exactly! It's been over five years!"

"But what if someone...or thing tries to.." her voice fell. She paused as she remembered that assassins, demon or otherwise, for whom they were on constant watch. "...and no one is watching her? Or no one notices?"

"Hinata-chan. I am going to be right here. A little busy, but right here. And besides, there are ninja coming in and out 24-7. Why on earth wouldn't ONE of them notice?"

"I guess, but..." She tried to think of another excuse. A good reason not to be separated from her child. "What if she wanders off again? Rounin is gone for a week! No one will be here to bring her back. Or even find her!"

He rebutted. "Once again. I will be in the. other. room. I can't believe you don't even trust me with my own child!"

"It's not that I don't trust you Naruto-kun," She clarified. "But you said it yourself. You'll be very

busy! There will be four diplomats coming tomorrow, and you know she needs constant supervi-"

Suddenly, the quarrel was interrupted by a loud boom, as a now not-so-youthful, but still very spandex clad jounin we all know and love flew through the doors. He landed in his classic 'nice guy' pose, which now looked, dare I say, even creepier combined with his slightly aged appearance. Yes, just another disturbing dynamic entry. A 'ping' came from somewhere. Or nowhere.

"Salutations, Hokage-sama, Hinata-sama!" Shouted Gai with a triumphant smile. "I couldn't help overhearing your predicament whilst I had my ear pressed against these very doors,"

He gestured to the heavy wooden doors which were now precariously perched and squeaking on their hinges. Naruto and Hinata were both very disturbed by the fact that he was eavesdropping, but cut him some slack, because everyone knew that HE was really the disturbed one. And he really didn't have anything to do since Ten-Ten and Lee (meaning Ten-Ten) banned him from their house, in fear of corrupting 8 year old (we really have to think of a name) any further than he already was. Back to the story.

"And It would be my duty- nay, my OBLIGATION as an elite jounin of Konoha to protect and serve Suzu-himesama for tomorrow while Hinata-sama goes to the Tanzaku Town (that is the name of the town they went to with tsunade, right?) hot-springs for a 'girls day' with Sakura-san and Ino-san."

There was a strange pause in the room. Uncomfortable for Naruto and Hinata, but just another conversation for Gai. He was used to it. It was Naruto's turn to save the day again.

"Um, Gai, if you would be so kind, can you step out for a minute while Hinata-chan and I think about your very generous offer?"

Gai still held his previous expression as he spoke. "Of course! A decision of such youthful importance shouldn't be rushed!" He stepped to the door. "I'll be right outside to hear your decision, Hokage-sama!" He let the pummeled doors click closed as he left the room.

Naruto looked at Hinata sheepishly. "So you're really just concerned about the diplomats I hope, right?"

She returned his pitiful look with a: please-you-know-better-than-that look. Which evened it out. "You remember what happened last time Suzu decided to play when there were diplomats around."

He inwardly winced. He recalled vague images that had something to do with spiked tea, flaming appendages, MISPLACED medical chemicals, (why on earth sakura oba-san has these things unlocked while baby-sitting is beyond me) words along the lines of "Look! I made tea! Now I can play tea-party, too!" then there always comes the, "Aww, how cute!" Biggest mistake right there. The events that had transpired next were all but a blur to Naruto. He had long since blocked out the trauma, but he knew it ended with some very disgruntled and disturbed daimos. (yay alliteration!) Albeit a bit traumatized, their meeting was successful, and he knew it really wasn't Suzu's fault. She was just curious. obnoxiously curious. Yes, obnoxious was the word. Naruto sighed. She was absolutely right. Suzu needed supervision.

"You're right. But, Gai? We all know he means well, and he could use preoccupation," Yes, Naruto can use and comprehend big words now! Aren't we all proud of him? "But I really don't think he is the... best sitter for Suzu. Can't we just ask Haru again? She's a damn miracle worker when it comes to Suzu."

Hinata put a semi-pleading look on her face. "She's already watched her almost 3 times every week while I work with my students, and I couldn't bear asking her again. You know she can't decline, and Sasuke has been trying to work with her on her techniques and you wouldn't want to upset him by taking her away, right?"

Naruto digressed. He knew how Sasuke had wanted to teach his daughter for a while. He sighed. "Right.."

"And you know that Gai will take excellent care of Suzu." she continued. "He won't let her out of his sight, and he'll keep her out of trouble. So I'm going to tell him yes."

It seems he was beat. "You're right. Gai's our best option. I never should've doubted you Hinata-chan. I'm sorry."

Hinata smiled. "That's better."

She reached up and gave him a small kiss as she left the room to tell Gai their decision. after a few seconds, he recognized Gai's voice and vaguely made out the words:

"Yosh! I will not fail you and Hokage-sama! This mission to guard and care for Suzu-himesama will be the only reason i live and sleep for the next 48 hours! Now, I must bid you farewell, Hinata-sama, as I now take my leave to train in order to better defend the bright youth of Suzu himesama from doing anything un-youthful whilst the diplomats are in the company of Hokage-sama! First, I shall run 32 laps around Konoha on my hands, clothed in nothing but honey soaked swim trunks in order to give the bears incentive to chase me so that I shall run faster than I could ever possibly do without the fear of the bear..."

And that would be where, simultaneously, Naruto stopped listening, and hinata slowly backed through the doors again to leave Gai with his... interesting thoughts.

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so, that was chapter one! stay tuned, and remember to review! oh, and there'll DEFINITELY be some plot twists, too! - oh, and if the the whole assassins part confuses you, i'll explain later...don't worry. press the button!!!!!!!

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	2. Meet the Victi,, I Mean Sitter

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Shenanigans -- Chapter TWO:

Meet the Victi-...I Mean Sitter

The very next day, Gai reported to the Hokage building (or is it called government building?) bright and early and ready to take on the day ahead. But, not early enough. Hinata was already there at the door, and waiting for him to arrive. Suzu was standing behind her, one hand clenching her mother's left leg, and the other one squeezing her hand.

Gai looked a bit closer at Suzu. He hadn't seen her since she was an infant, even though she was always around. Well, she was always under constant supervision of Hinata, and he hadn't seen much of her recently either. The first thing he noticed was how small she was for her age. Lately, he had heard the rumors that she was going to supposedly be too small to go to the academy with the other children. He hoped this wasn't true. I mean, could you imagine a hokage's child, too weak to go to the normal ninja academy? But now that he saw her, he was a bit worried.

Other than that, she had a quite adorably innocent appearance. Today, she was obviously dressed by her father. She had on a horrendous pale orange, knee-length sleeveless dress with red flame designs at the bottom, which almost matched the jacket her father wore. Except for the colors. (Come on. You really think that he'd wear the Hokage Outfit all the time?) Her eyes were big and pale like her mother's, but tinted a faint ocean blue, and her skin wasn't as pale as her mother's, but still on the pale side. But the most identifiable feature she had was her short bright blond hair, just like her father's and brother's. it had a strange resemblance to a slightly open umbrella, and reached to the middle of her neck. On either side of her face were two bangs like her mother's, only they reached all the way to her chest, and had a bow near each end. Speaking of bows, it looked like she had 2 more at the top of her bangs, and a lot randomly placed all around her hair. Almost like a completely failed attempt to tame her hair. Yeah. The typical innocent little girl.

"Oh, Gai! You're here!" Hinata seemed relieved. She got down on her knees to talk to Suzu at a little more than eye level. "Okay, Suzu-chan. this is Gai-san." As she gestured over to him, Suzu turned herself to face him. "He' the one who's going to be taking care of you today, okay? So be good and no matter what, you can't play with Tou-san today."

Suzu's face became a sort of kawaii/ confused as she put in innocent finger up to her mouth and just stared. Gai couldn't explain it, but it wasn't a normal chibi-stare. It was spacey and wide-eyed and innocent, but there was an undertone of vague contemplation beneath. It frightened him.

All of the sudden, her face scrunched up in realization. She then inhaled as much air as she could and, in what Gai hoped was as loud a voice she could, she waved a tiny hand at him and screeched, "OHAYO, BUSHY-BROWS-SAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!!" (just think of the first episode of avatar where Aang was having a serious conversation with Katara, and he stops to yell, PENGUIN!!)

Gai's face was definitely of the 'WTF' variety as he slapped his hands over his ears to stop his head from spinning. He shook it off and bent down into the same position as Hinata. He bowed his head slightly. "It is indeed a pleasure to finally meet you, Suzu-himesama."

Suzu looked giddy and excited as she turned around to her mother and tugged on her sleeve. "Ne, ne. (yes,she did pick that up from her father. she likes to emulate him.) Kaa-san? This is my babysitter? Honto ni?" (really)

Hinata smiled. "Honto yo." (really-again) she replied.

Suzu beamed and in a flash had tackled Gai to the ground. She waved her hands in that air and stared ranting about the super cool time they were going to have together.

"Ne, ne. Bushy-brown-san! You're going to come to my pretty princess tea time tea party, right?! And then we're going to play dress up and I'll show you all the pretty bows oba-san got for me, and you can meet all my stuffed animals, and then we'll both dress up and go to the super-fancy cookie and tea ROYAL EXTRAVAGANZA BONANZAAAAAA!!" By the end, she had shining eyes, and joyful tears streaming down her face. Gai was horrified of what monstrosities awaited him. This was so un-youthful.

He was about to protest when Suzu grabbed his collar and brought his face close. Her visage grew very dark until nothing was visible but her mouth, which then turned into a dastardly evil, maniacal, sadistic, grin. Sharp teeth included. Her voice was low monotone and serious as she spoke, only loud enough for her and Gai to hear, "And if you won't come to my tea party,

I'll just have to rip those bushy eyebrows off your face while you sleep...among other things." a dark aura surrounded her as she pulled out from her dress what seemed to be some sort of medieval torture device, complete with a drill bit, pliers clamps, and saw blade.

On second thought, maybe he could be taught an important lesson in humility from this child. Actually, he could quite possibly get back in touch with his inner youthfulness, too! Something, which he missed very dearly. With this happy thought, he forgot all about Suzu's threats and magically appearing pocket death machine and faced the situation with a new found valor and determination. He was going to get back in touch with his youth!

-Duh, duh-duh! - GAI'S RANT TIME!!!

He picked Suzu up off the ground and carried her under one arm against his hip. She smiled a satisfied, eyes half-closed, grinning a Cheshire cat smile. She was going to like this babysitter. A lot more messed up than boring old Haru. Gai shouted to the world, "Oh Suzu-himesama! I shall complete your activities of youth and become more in touch with my own youthfulness in the process! What a wise soul you have! For peace and justice in the world, let's face the task ahead with boldness and spunk! You can teach me how to be a child again, and we can frolic in the wonders of being young and free-spirited for the rest of our lives! You're completely right! Youth can't be counted in years of your life, but in the years of your everlasting, noble heart! So, therefore, Suzu-himesama, in order to prove the existence of a youthful spirit to the world, I SHALL DRESS UP AND PLAY PRETTY PRINCESS TEA TIME TEA PARTY WITH YOU!!" He burst into tears, and enveloped Suzu in a bear hug as a sunset scene appeared out of nowhere.

After a while, it all went back to normal.

Suzu smiled excitedly as she spoke, "We're going to do all my favorite things today, Bushy-brows-san!"

She turned to see that her Oba-san and Ino-san were already there, and waiting for her mother. Hinata turned to Suzu. "Okay, Suzu-chan I have to go, so behave yourself until I get back tomorrow." She leaned down and kissed her on the forehead with probably too much of a smooching sound than was necessary. In response, Suzu put on her cutest, wide-eyed face and looked up at her mother. "I love you, Kaa-san!" She chirped as Hinata started walking away.

"I love you too, sweetie, have lots of fun with Gai-san today, okay?" Hinata shouted back.

Suzu turned around on one foot, and abruptly stopped to face Gai. She smiled with her eyes closed up at him. There was an awkward silence. Which was oddly broken by Gai this time.

"So, Suzu-himesama. Can we start on your youthful activities, now?" He asked, rather anxious to get in touch with his youth again. Strange. A fifty-something year old man excited to get into a fairy princess dress and have tea with a five-year-old.

But, Suzu had planned this. "HAAAAAAI!" she said in a loud monotone voice. She hummed to herself and skipped through the doors, gesturing for Gai to follow her. He did. Almost exactly. He, too started skipping and humming in synch with little Suzu. Again, strange.

But he seemed to enjoy it, nonetheless. "We're starting right out of the gate, huh? YOSH! Way to show discipline at an early age, Himesama! Like I always say, there's no time like the present!"

Suzu didn't respond. She looked back through the window as her mother faded into the distance with her Oba-san and Ino-san close behind. She smiled and closed her eyes again, continuing to lead Gai, skipping, through the hallways of the Hokage tower to her room.

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So concludes chapter the second of this fic. and trust me...IT DOESN'T END HOW YOU THINK! -Wink- and there'll be a flashback in the next chapter that explains some things... have a comment/idea? Please review! DOWN HERE!

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	3. A History Explained

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Shenanigans -- Chapter THREE:

A History Explained

Uzumaki Naruto slowly leaned back at his desk in his large old chair. The same chair that the sandaime, his father, and baa-chan had all sat in. The same chair that had been severely abused by his last predecessor, and was thrown out the window in fits of rage. Apparently the chair had even more of a rough time when she was just sitting in it. Naruto figured that the weight of her boobs just stretched the entire framework of the poor chair, and to this day it groans and squeaks when moved in the slightest. "Yeah," he thought. "This sadly abused chair would appreciate a replacement."

He sighed a long, frustrated sigh.

But not because of the chair that would not be replaced for sentimental reasons. He had more important things to sigh about.

Like the fate of his daughter.

It had been looming over him for five and a half years like a thick gray cloud filled with guilt. He hadn't told anyone. Not even Hinata, who deserved to know. At first, he just denied what his demon was telling him, and it's connection to all the strange incidents of small demon underlings appearing along the borders of fire country. After the defeat of Akatsuki, he became the only jinchuuriki (and he knew the only demon) left, and told himself that there was no way that the demons could come back from the dead. But there were a lot of things humans didn't know about the youkai.

Well, there was one human who did know at least one of their secrets. Uzumaki Naruto remembered how it was told to him the night after he found out that Hinata was pregnant with their second child.

FLASHBACK :

(a/n: yes, I'm so evil. but this would not really be considered in the style of naruto if there weren't any flashbacks. oh, and there may be ONE more that lasts about two seconds)

_Naruto awoke to find himself in a place oh-so-very familiar to him. He sat up and sighed. He hadn't been to this leaky, dismal sewer in a few years. The only conclusion he could come to:_

_"What does that seething pile of filth want now?"_

_He got to his feet and instinctively walked down the corridor to the room his 'tenant' resided in, after muttering, "And when I was having such a good day, too."_

_He was greeted by those impossibly big steel bars and the blackness behind them, in which the feint outline of kyuubi no youkai could been seen. With red eyes that pierced the darkness, he gazed onto to the new occupant of 'his' room. Despite the eerie scene which would have anyone a tad nervous, he walked up to the cage groggily and stopped at a safe distance. He had been there so many times, it was almost an instinct for him to stand at least this far away from the cage._

_(a/n: I could imagine naruto drawing a line when kyuubi reached his claws out to know the safest distance from him, then, when he leaves, kyuubi erases the line, draws it closer to the cage, and shreds him to ribbons the next time he pisses him off. just like in tom and jerry cartoons.)_

_Naruto crossed his arms. The slight presence of a smirk on his face. "Okay. You have me stumped. What could you possibly want from me this time? Couldn't get to sleep? Need me to read you a bedtime story?" He asked sarcastically._

_The Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. "I assure you," he began. "This is a matter of grave importance. It concerns your _precious_ country, but more importantly, my precious forest territory."_

_Naruto immediately knew that this had something to do with the recent demonic activity along the fire country's borders. "So you've decided to tell me about how all of the attacks came about? Or have you just decided to tell me how to stop it and save me your life story?"_

_"Actually," Kyuubi started, "A bit of both. You see, youkai like me are really forces of nature. We cannot be ever by truly destroyed. Even when a jinchuuriki dies, our presence from this world does not end completely, like that of a mortal. We may be gone for a few years, but we always come back, even after death."_

_"So you're saying that all the other youkai killed that were in jinchuuriki, or just found and used, have finally come back, huh?" Naruto interrupted._

_Kyuubi continued. "But that's only the start of my problems. That's not what's affecting me in here. As I was saying, we are as much a part of nature as anything else. For example, have you ever wondered why there are different youkai in different ares? It's because we each have different territories, like regular animals. Your 'fire country' is just one big forest, and therefore, all my territory. I rule over it, even when I am imprisoned inside of you. All the demons have been slowly regaining power, and reining over their territories in peace again, now that they are free of the Akatsuki, and their jinchuuriki." He paused. "ALL OF THEM BUT ME!!" He barked. "I am still held captive here, in this horrid place, and the other demons mock me with their freedom, and they're _taunting_ me. I can _feel_ it. They see my weakness and have been advancing into MY forest and disrupting the natural ORDER!"_

_Naruto was apparently enlightened and unfazed by this information. "Well, if you're deranged enough to think that I'll kill myself to let you out, think again."_

_"Well of course I know you're not so stupid as to kill yourself, and I've given up on escape long ago..." Kyuubi sighed. Then continued in a surprisingly calm, and a bit proud, voice. "So I've taken the _liberty_ of putting a solution in order." Then silence._

_Naruto waited, but nothing came. "Well, what is it?"_

_"Oh." Kyuubi started, almost as if he just remembered what he was going to say. "Your unborn child."_

_As soon as the words came out of his mouth, Naruto was engulfed in rage. "WHAT DID YOU DO?" He shouted, with a tone so dark and threatening, and eyes so filled with bloodlust, Kyuubi was for once thankful to be behind bars._ (a/n: hehehe. Kyuu-chan's doin' time. He's so bad-ass.)

_He explained/defended himself. "Calm down! It's not like I mated with your vixen, kit! Still so quick to assume."_

_"So how do you plan to use my child to help yourself, exactly?" Naruto was still using a harsh tone, but in more controlled manner._

_"To put it simply, your next child will have the blessing of the forest, and the ability to call upon my control over it. The child will be connected to the forest, and feel, with as much clarity as I do, how it feels. This ability over all living things in a territory is what allows youkai to claim land as their own, and better defend and nurture their homes. Basically, a house-sitter/defender until I get out of this miserable imprisonment. In my eons of life, I have never had a real time to use this substitute guardian trick, so I don't know all the exact abilities that the child will have, but I do know that one is never born with these abilities. They are awakened some time, and with them, so awakens their responsibility to defend my forest, and care for it while I'm on a...hiatus"_

_Naruto felt relieved, but still seething angry that the kyuubi would burden his child with such a responsibility. Not only would they have to fight other enemy ninja, but enemy demon's henchman, too._

_"Well, you're lucky you're in that cage. You'd make one hell of a fur rug." Naruto knew there was nothing he could do now except hope he could help in some way. Maybe make the burden a bit easier._

_Kyuubi laughed. "You still have guts, kid. I respect that. If you're kit's anything like you, they'll take the responsibility no problem. This was my only choice, after all. To help you and me, really."_

_The strange real yet unreal world faded, and Naruto opened his eyes and he was once again back in his room. He sighed and closed his eyes again. He would tell Hinata tomorrow..._

END FLASHBACK

Needles to say, he never told her. Every day seemed like a good day to say something. But just how do you go about saying it? It was even harder than telling his friends about being a jinchuuriki in the first place. It's not that he thought Hinata wouldn't love him anymore, he just thought she would get angry that he'd put it off for so long. She'd think he had been trying to hide it from her. He just never knew how to tell her. It might be a little scary to one day hear: "Oh, and by the way, Teikiatsuzu (a/n: Suzu's full name. Literally means 'cyclone' and 'figure' just stuck together. Figure like a scientific drawing or picture like you see in math or science books. When she was really little, she mispronounced it by saying teikiaSUZU by changing the 'tsu' symbol to a 'su' by accident. Of course it was cute at the time because suzu means 'bell' and she couldn't even say her own name. The nickname 'suzu' stuck. ) is cursed to a life of servitude, being at the beck and call of a demon until the day he comes back from the 'dead' and she'll have to fend off demons and feel every emotion of living things in the forest, too."

It just didn't seem like something a mother would take very easily.

In fact, he took it horribly. It made him feel more guilt than when he used to link himself to the murders committed by the Kyuubi years ago, and the guilt he released the power of the demon to kill again. He could handle that burden himself, but burdening his own child with such a task seemed to tug on his very being. He had ignored his own belief in making your own destiny. Suzu's life's purpose was predetermined for her before she was born. He had cursed Suzu, and he wished Kyuubi had told him earlier. He would have given his life in her place and killed kyuubi so he could come back (hopefully more docile) and take care of his own damn forest. Doing this would sever all connections between demons and his family. Now, all he could do was hope that Suzu would one day forgive him, and he would protect her from the persecution she would face for being seen as a youkai. Just like that which he had faced.

Naruto then sat up in his chair, a determined look on his face.

"I've decided!" He thought. "I'll tell Hinata as soon as she gets home! Before Suzu starts using her abilities, and before everything gets out of hand, maybe I'll be able to help her, and get everyone to see her in a better light than they saw me."

An assistant opened the door to his office and poked his head through. "The diplomats from tea country are here to see you, Hokage-sama." He spoke meekly.

Naruto was pulled from his train of thought. "Thank you very much. You can send them in." He replied.

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Wow. That one took a while cuz I was basically banned from the computer for the entire month of October for reasons we won't go into, but now I'm back! The next chapter won't be as serious, and definitely expect humor. LOTS. I was in a funny mood. It's comin' soon!

This chappie was one big explanation, and a little insight into naruto's feelings about the situation. It's deep stuff for him! So, the next chapter will be out soon!

Questions? Compliments? Complaints? Comments? Suggestions? FINANCIAL ADVICE…?

REVIEW!

For the next chapter: What should happen? I have the ending, but I need suggestions of some tom-foolery they could get into before then... Drop me a note!


	4. Enter: Uzumaki Teikiatsuzu

So, here's the next chapter! where things REALLY get interesting! Sorry it took so long to update. i have been really busy, then there was a trip to the hospital, and 14 people staying my house...you get the point. now, onwards, and ENJOY!

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Shenanigans -- Chapter FOUR:

(Truly) Enter: Uzumaki Teikiatsuzu

Gai and Suzu had finally reached the part of the building where her family resided. Suzu was now pointing out all the rooms to him.

She stopped in front of the first door on the left hand side. "This is nii-chan's room." She stopped in front of Rounin's room. "Sometimes Haru-neechan and Takashi-baka come and play with him," Gai inwardly smiled. Suzu couldn't comprehend that 15-year-olds don't really 'play' with each other like her and her little fiver-year-old friends do. "but when I try to go in and play with Haru-neechan, nii-chan's all like," She put her hands above her head and spoke like a dinosaur roaring. "RAWR! GOOOO AWAYYYYY."

Then, she went all the way to the end of the hall. She stopped in front of the room right next to her parent's. "And this" She gestured at the door. "Is my room!" She looked around, then deciding it was safe, motioned for Gai to bend down and hear what she had to say. Her voice dropped to a whisper as Gai leaned in to hear her. "Don't tell Rounin this but... I got the room next to Kaa-san and Tou-san because I'm the favorite. If Rounin heard, it would hurt his feelings."

Gai snickered. If only she was a little bit older she would realize that her room was next to her parents because of all the trouble she made. She had to be kept under constant supervision.

Suzu then reached up and turned the doorknob to her room. In Gai's mind, it was in slow-mo as she slowly pushed the door open. Gai, not being normal, also saw

a bright light instead of the room on the other side. insert the high note of a chorus here Once the door was fully open, the light faded to reveal her quarters.

They were strangely normal for a little girl. Bright, happy colors and such. But upon closer inspection, Gai realized that there were two things amiss in the room. One was the number of small boxes she had, which filled up all the shelf, dresser and table space she had. There were boxes like bento boxes, jewelry boxes, animal-shaped boxes, origami boxes, and cardboard boxes. To count them would require the assistance of someone adept with sharingan or byakugan. The other thing that Gai found rather unsettling was the very large chest situated next to her bed.

He was overwhelmed with curiosity as to what was in these boxes. He just had to find out.

"Ne, Suzu-hime?" Gai asked. He looked over to see her with shojo sparkles filling her eyes, gazing in admiration at the plethora of boxes she possessed. As a farmer would eye his most bountiful harvest at the peak of it's growth. "Pardon me for asking, but what is contained within all these..._lovely_ boxes?"

Suzu seemed overjoyed by (and expecting) this question. "I have the most awesome things ever in them, bushy-brows-san!" She ran over to a chest of drawers, and pulled a stool from next to it. She dragged it into place and carefully stepped on top, as if it were made of cardboard. Even though it gave her a lot of added height, she was really a tiny little pip-squeak, so she had to reach up on tip-toes as high as possible to reach the box she had in mind.

She stretched and just barely grabbed a dark blue box with tiny clawed feet like a bathtub, then hopped down off the stool and ran back to Gai. She extended her arms upward as far as they could go so he could get a better look. "This one's from obaa-chan." (no, not her real, dead grandmother. she's talking about tsunade, except she adopted the name naruto uses for her.) She brought it in closer to her, and used a tiny hand to lift the lid.

Gai yet again dawned his 'wtf...oo' look. He was relived and confused at the same time. Inside, there were candy wrappers. Silver and gold bits of aluminum candy wrappers.

To be honest, Gai feared the worst. He hated to admit it, but he had half-expected her to have some sort of demonic fetish with eating human flesh, and she kept the fingers in boxes in her room as trophies. Yes, Gai knew Naruto had proven himself very noble and un-demonic, but that didn't change the fact the SOMETHING was very strange about his little Teikiatsuzu...

But still, did she have candy wrappers in all those boxes? Just as he was about to say something, she shut the box, returned it to it's lofty perch, picked up the one next to it and sped back to gai to open it and extend it up to him again.

He found this new elephant-decorated box to be filled with large shards of mirror and gold-leafed china. Suzu then picked up a piece of a teacup and said, "Aren't they the most beautiful things you've ever seen?" She stared at it, anime-style, like she was in love with the inanimate, lustrous object. (A/N: lol... that reminds me of boston legal. u know, the woman who's an 'objectophile' and in love with a utility box, and then cheated on jerry with an i phone and a clock radio. does anyone watch that show? i phones ARE sexy, though...)

Now Gai realized it. She had a fetish with the shiny things IN the boxes. Not the boxes themselves. He could only imagine how many more she would need if the obsession continued to adulthood. Gai was scared. very scared. He could imagine a future where her father used his authority as hokage to store all her boxes in the homes of shinobi, and then to make them go on missions to collect shiny things. Gai shivered. He didn't want shiny things in his house! And he knew Naruto would do it, too. Suzu was most definitely daddy's little girl. She had him tied around her little finger from the moment she took her first breath. He even went so far as to ban all potted plants from the hokage building, claiming that she was 'allergic to house plant pollen'. (A/N: But YOU, reader, know the REAL reason, ne? you see a papa trying to prolong the inevitable, correct?)

But that still didn't explain the large trunk next to her bed. He broke Suzu out of her trance by gesturing to it and exclaiming,"Indeed they are miraculous, but what about THAT one, hime-sama?"

Suzu turned around for a second, surprised, then realized that it needed explaining and turned back around again. "That box," She started, then ran to said object, showing it off like one off like a prize on a game show. "houses the gowns to wear when invited to the royal-fantasy-princes-grand-tea-festival-bonanza." Gai's translation: I am going to dress you in these for the tea party.

Suzu grabbed the top with both hands and struggled to lift the lid which groaned on squeaky hinges as it was lifted to a ninety degree angle. She gestured for gai to come and look. He took, slow deliberate paces to the box and started in wonder at the hundreds of costumes she had stuffed in the chest. Most were kimonos embroidered with scenes of great storms and peaceful sunsets which looked fit for a fancy Hyuuga party. Gai didn't doubt that they were most likely gifts from her Hyuuga relatives. They were ecstatic when she had been born pupil-less. 'just like a Hyuuga should be' they said. Her brother had Byakugan, but his pupils only disappeared when it was activated so the Hyuuga were disappointed that people couldn't tell at all he was related to them, what with the untamable blond mane and sapphire blue eyes like his sister, father, and grandfather.

But back to the costumes. Gai had found that hidden in the chest were a couple of fancy western styled gowns, too. Along with the ridiculous costume jewelry, Gai realized that his was the perfect way to get back in touch with his youth.

"YOSH, HIME-SAMA!" Gai struck his 'nice-guy' pose. "LET'S HAVE A TEA PARTY!!!"

A few masterful (forced) fashion decisions later and, VIOLA!

Gai sat scrunched up in a chair about 40 years too young for him, and at a table about 40 cm too short for him. It fit Suzu perfectly. He had on a pink kimono over his green spandex with running bunnies at the bottom, but, let's just say it wasn't quite his size. It was pulled tightly over both his shoulders, and ended about halfway down his arms. The obi was tied around his upper torso like some sort of torture device, and the kimono just barely covered the hita-ate around his waist. He could barely move in the thing. He was afraid one slip could rip the delicate Hyuuga fabric that would take his next 10 mission's paychecks to replace! His face was powdered on both cheeks, and he was the subject of Suzu's lipstick treatment, which was a bit lacking. Gai's lips were covered, but so was about five inches of skin around them. And with the mascara on his eyelashes, they looked about ten inches long...if you could imagine longer eyelashes that Gai's current ones.

All around were frog stuffed animals with playful faces, and protruding tongues, each with a full table setting and cup of tea before them. They were mocking Gai with their makeup-less faces and fluffy, kimono-less bodies. MOCKING HIM WITH THEIR FREEDOM! HE WOULD PREVAIL! He was determined to overcome the challenges of being young again! Suzu sat at the other end of the table with her eyes closed in glee. She hummed to herself as she poured 'seconds' for all the frogs.

"More tea, Usagi-chan?" Suzu chimed. Gai was pulled from his thoughts as he focused on the task at hand. Distracting Hime-sama while Hokage-sama had things to do.

"Hai-" Gai remembered and stopped himself. "Eto..." (Expression that means 'I mean'. I'm not quite sure of the romanized spelling, though. Could someone tell me if it's wrong?) He put on a poor girlishly high pitched tone. "Hai, Suzu-himesama. Arigatou gozaimasu."

Suzu reached over the table and tippled the teapot to pour a wobbly little stream into his cup, which slowly trickled until only drips came out the spout.

"uh-oh." Suzu lifted the lid and put it to her eye. "It's all gone." She stated. She jumped from her chair and skipped to the door as fast as her light-blue kimono allowed her to. "Stay right here, Usagi-chan. I'm gonna go ask kotetsu-chan and itsumo-chan for some more tea." She strode out of the room just as Gai was about to protest. He thought for a second. 'Kotetsu and Itsumo shouldn't be too far off.' He mused. 'They were the ones to bring her the tea in the first place, so I guess it's okay.' He sighed. Poor kotetsu and itsumo. They had never really gotten the very serious jobs around the village, for the jounin status that they had. Now they mostly had the job to fix Suzu tea, since she wasn't allowed to do it herself anymore. Not after the 'incident'.

Gai stared at the whimsically faced frogs as he pondered the sad lives of his comrades...

But meanwhile, on her quest for tea, Suzu had made a slight detour.

She knew where they were usually stationed at the Hokage tower nowadays, but she couldn't help herself when she saw one of the diplomat's anbu escorts place a wooden box marked "Tea Country" on a table in her father's small private study. She knew that the frequent visitors often came bearing gifts, and that the gifts were placed in this room every time. As the anbu flickered out of sight, back to wherever the diplomats needing protection were, Suzu had an urge to see what was inside this box.

I mean, come on. It had the word 'tea' on it.

She had to find out what kind of wonder lay inside. She quickly looked from left to right, then took quick sneaky little ninja-steps over through the door to the table. After glancing around again, she placed a tentative hand on the ribbon tying the top and bottom halves of the box together. after some hesitation, she quickly grasped the tail end of one ribbon and gave it a swift pull, unraveling the bow as the fabric fluttered to the sides of the box. She placed a small hand on either side of the lid, and slowly pulled it up, placing it beside the box.

Inside, surrounded by silk cloth, lay a set of handmade china. A tea set all the way from Tea country itself. The perfectly smooth faces of the small cups and large teapot glistened as the beams of light which shone through the windows reflected of the porcelain surfaces. They had inlays of gold leaf in the outlines of forest animals running and prancing, colored in vivid paints, which looked almost alive. They hypnotized Suzu with their colors and rhythmic patterns, as their fine curves winked and sparkled in the midday light. Only one word escaped her as she became enthralled by their... shininess.

"Sugoi..."

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erm...so Sugoiamazing

So, that was the long overdue next chapter. I know you all can't wait for the next! drop me a review if you have something to say, or to yell me, or to recommend something, or to just say you enjoyed it!

Laters! XD

REVIEW!


	5. The Perfect Place for a Party!

Hello! I haven't updated this in a while, but I swear I'll get better! BIG DEVELOPMENTS IN THIS CHAPTER!!

(I'll make it look pretty when I'm not on my mac laptop dead-tired and I have time to get to word on my desktop)

CHAPTER FIVE: The Perfect Place for a Party!

All the messengers, secretaries, and temporarily out of commission Ninja in the government building stared as they watched Suzu pull what seemed to be a package almost half her size down the halls to the exit. It just looked like a very large box (compared to Suzu) wrapped in an old furoshiki, so they only wondered for a minute at what her reasoning was. But did she really need a reason? They assumed not and returned to their duties, none bothering to tell the Hokage about the development.

So, Suzu was able to continue on her merry way with no opposition. She headed out the door, and started down the bustling streets of a typical Saturday Konoha.

And where was Gai during all this, well, he just doubted Suzu's ability to do exactly what she wasn't supposed to in a very inconspicuous amount of time.

Needless to say, most of the citizens were at first perplexed by this sight, but any signs of trouble were outweighed by the fact that it would be very difficult for Suzu to do anything without permission. (It was common knowledge.) They just assumed that she was sent on an errand and didn't bother to ask.

Suzu knew exactly where she was headed. It was the one place that no one ever allowed her to go, and she was dead-set on seizing the opportunity to taste the forbidden fruit while she was still unsupervised. She knew her ass would be grass if anyone ever told her parents she had been caught there, and it was the perfect place to have the best tea party ever. The forest. Well, it wasn't actually the _forest _forest, but it was as close as you could get to the great forests of the fire country inside Konoha's main walls. Sure, there were patches of thick trees throughout the village, but this one was special. It flanked a large section of the wall around Konoha to the east, (A/N: so far away from where the action is, I'd call it 'East Jesus' ! lol... I said Jesus...)perpendicular to the Hokage monument, and it was longer than it was wide. It was an area of little strategic or economic importance. It had bad views and was pretty far from the main residential areas, so building there would not really benefit anyone. The main thing it was used for was an informal training ground. A place to practice navigating through the thickest of forests (Which every Konoha ninja prides themselves in. It's kind of their thing.) without being exposed to dangers, like the ones abundant in the forest of death. It was empty most of the time, though. Just forgotten and left to the wild.

But the one thing bad about this perfect patch of forbidden play-land was the vicious guard-dog that loomed about 10 blocks before it. The only route little almost-five-year-old Suzu knew took her practically on a tour of the Uchiha estate.

But, nonetheless, Suzu continued without hesitating. She was proud of her natural ability to mask her true emotions.

Her playful yet leisurely bubble-like steps never faltered as she passed through the antique grounds, an almost itty-bitty Konoha for about 100 people, even though the clan only had five members. The compound was still something akin to empty ruins, yet kept in perfectly spotless and repaired condition. Then she had reached the garden-like training ground.

The familiar sound (Even for a little youngster like herself) of speechless hand-to-hand combat reached her ears from quite a bit away. It then stopped suddenly, which Suzu thought was for a quick break, a few paces before she was visible to the occupants of the large fenced enclosure. As she came into view, she was suprised to not hear any speech at all. She then looked over and spotted Sasuke, meditating with his eyes closed, cool and collected on the far end of the practice grounds, while Haru was sweating profusely and catching her breath with a determined look on her face as she stared out past the fence with her back turned to her father.

Suzu was relieved to see that Sasuke was so far away. He would most definitely tattle to her father about where she was going, and she was afraid of what her punishment would be if he found out... She pushed the thoughts of her shiny objects being locked away somewhere dark and unreachable out of her mind. She then realized that if she kept going, she would come face-to-face within 2 feet of Haru! She didn't know what to do. They were going to find her, no matter what! she could run back now, but then they would know that she was doing something bad. She wanted to play in the forest more than anything! she could make a run for it, but it seemed unlikely, ne, impossible, that she could escape them. Her only choice was to use timing, and act like she had nothing to hide...

So, mustering a bit more of her acting abilities, she started past the training grounds as if all were fine and dandy. Not changing her demeanor in the slightest. As soon as she got ten feet out into the open, Haru had spotted her.

Haru instantly stopped panting and stood upright giving a half angry, half quizzical stare to Suzu. She knew that she was up to something. She had a big box all wrapped up dragging behind her, so it couldn't be good. How she had managed to evade whatever replacement babysitter she was supposed to be under the supervision of escaped her, but she had a bad feeling that maybe it was someone very foolishly malleable... But that didn't matter. She was most definitely disregarding her rules. She could tell by that smug little look on her face. Oh how she had come to loathe and despise that look. Haru narrowed her eyes. She had to interrogate the suspect.

She raised her voice to 'stern-talking-to' level and called.

"Suzu..."

No response. Suzu had kept her pace up and her eyes glued to her destination in front of her with that smug look barely hidden by her innocent stare.

So, keeping the same volume, she changed the tone to the 'you-better-explain-or-I'll-smash-your-shiny-collection-to-bits' tone.

"SUZU." It was short and to the point.

Still no response. Using as much volume as she could gather without her father being suspicious, she now sent the 'NOW-you're-up-shit's-creek' call ringing through the air.

"UZUMAKI TEIKIATSUZU! YOU LOOK AT ME RIGHT THIS SECOND OR SO HELP ME-"

She was cut off as, with perfecting timing, Suzu passed right in front of her, and, without stopping, turned, gave her an innocent gaze and spoke in a sickly sweet voice.

"Ohayoo, Haru-neechan! "

Then closed her eyes with a big smile and then turned back around to watch the road.

Haru was seething red with rage. That little punk had disrespected her for the last time! She was about to hop the fence and pound her to a bloody pulp to end all her trouble when she realized that her father was watching, and that he would probably be disappointed if she walked out of a very rare one-on-one training session with him just to beat up the Hokage's four year old daughter. And Suzu would get her just-deserts anyways. She really was a sweet girl besides the rule thing. Besides, training like this didn't happen very often and she would just scare Suzu for now with a very real threat.

"TEIKIATSUZU, YOU HAVE GONE TOO FAR! YOU EITHER GO HOME THIS INSTANT OR I'M GOING TO COME FIND YOU AND YOU'LL WISH THAT YOU HAD WHEN I GAVE YOU THE CHANCE!"

After this garnered no visible response, Haru was pissed again.

"GET BACK HERE OR I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN AND RIP OFF YOUR EARS AND SHOVE TH-"

"Haru?" Her father interrupted her and got up as Suzu was just out of sight. Haru instantly snapped out of her rage and spun around to face Sasuke. "What was the yelling about?"

She had to make up a lie, and make it up quick! (A/N: hehe... how the grinch stole christmas...lol!)

"Ummm, I was thinking, eto...eto...aa..." She sputtered out, but finally gave up and sighed. "Nandemonai..." She just couldn't think of a good reason that she was raving like a lunatic.

Sasuke was apparently unfazed. "Can we continue?"

He turned around and started back towards the far end of the training area.

"Hai.." Haru responded and followed a distance behind her father, not without narrowing her eyes to glance back at the road, vowing to find out what in the box, and what it was Suzu would take such a large risk for...

But meanwhile, Suzu just continued towards her destination. After a short walk, she was finally looking up at the immense density of the strange patch of growth. She stopped and smiled, happy to have reached her destination without interference.

She looked around for a way to enter the thick woods (obviously she couldn't jump on the trees like she had seen ninja do) until she found a tiny path worn in the brush. It was only about 2 feet across, but it was plenty big for her. (A/N: It's one of those paths trampled by deer. just in case u were like, "where the hell did THAT come from?!" but she's only 4. like hell she would know that deer make paths like that.)

She was overjoyed as she took her first step into the tree-line. She was magnetically drawn deeper into the forest, until the light became only tiny wiggling spots and patches, the sun still bright but sliced and diced by the leaves in the canopy.

She then started to see the shadows of birds flying overhead. First only scarce little blobs, darting and weaving between the trees. She looked up to see if she could catch a glimpse which proved easy as there numbers grew. After a few seconds, there seemed to be more and more little flashes of brightly colored birds, seemingly following the same path she was. She decided to stop and stare at all their colors. She stopped dragging her tea set and stared up into the branches of the trees. There, perched densely on many of the high branches, were scores upon scores of little fiches, larks, swallows, sparrows, and even owls, crows, ravens and hawks peering back down at her, following her every movement intensely. It seemed like there were a few still arriving, fluttering down to perch with little or no chirping, cawing, screeching, or singing. It seemed like the flapping of their wings were the only real noise to be heard.

Suzu stared at all the colors intently. They were so beautiful! She didn't know that birds came in that many shapes and sizes and patterns. Then, directly above her, an owl ogled her with dinner-plate, watery eyes, cocked it's head to the side, and muttered a deep, "Whoo..."

Suzu had never seen such a cute and funny bird before! She closed her eyes and let out a fit of tiny giggles that rung in the eerie silent forest.

She had only been laughing for about five seconds when the entire swarm of avian furies let out a roaring chorus of sining and giggling themselves. As birds don't particularly giggle, it was really just a combined jubilant, full pitch range chirping cheer of happiness.

Suzu stopped after she realized the great sound, and listened for a moment before resuming her trek, and returning to her fit of happy giggles as the birds glided slowly from tree to tree to accompany her through the forest. As she continued, her laughter died down but the pleasant songs from the voices of her traveling companions were very relaxing to listen to. She began to explore other things in the forest as she listened.

The trail was getting a bit bumpy, with roots jutting out of the forest floor at awkward angles. If Suzu wasn't so preoccupied staring at the vibrant colors of the bird swarm, she might have seen a large 6 inch tall root that twisted along the trampled ground. She gave one trusting yet unknowing step forwards, and tumbled towards the ground, landing with a solid echoing 'thump' on the worn ground beneath her.

Unharmed but a bit startled, she stared wide-eyed while laying on her belly for a second. When realization of her fall finally hit, her bottom lip quivered, and her eyes started to water as forced whimpers and sniffs escaped her. (A/N: you know, when little kids start to cry even if they're not hurt. just because they fell. that pisses me off.)

Had her mother been here, this was when Suzu would be picked up and inspected, then thankfully cuddled in a warm embrace.

Just as she was going to advance to the tears stage of the cry, she felt what seemed like little bending pencils poking up from the dirt and slowly growing larger to push her upright again. Startled, her eyes open wide and she blinked all tears out of her eyes, and her sad face was replaced by a surprised one. Before her instincts told her to move away, the little bending arms had grown enough to lift her almost 17 inches from the ground, and they were tree roots!

They were growing and branching out rapidly, and splaying out like fingers, but then splitting again. In seconds time, the thickest ones were about five inches in diameter, almost like a small, very twisty and contorted bonsai spontaneously budding from the tree whose roots were underneath her. Before they had lifted her completely upright, they snaked their way around Suzu's arms and back, which caused her expression to change from amazed to nervous.

They still kept getting taller, until they had grown enough to lift her off the ground, and into the air, large roots holding her like big hands, underneath both arms and snaked around her sides. They had picked her up and started moving her along the path a ways, Suzu now just watching where they were taking her questioningly. She was lifted about 9 inches over the ground for a few meters until they had reached the root-less section of the path again. Suzu smiled appreciatively as they deposited her safely past all the roots growing through the little road.

She then gasped as she saw her forgotten box lying on the ground where she fell. It wasn't harmed, because it was too heavy for her to move when she took a dive.

"Ah! My box!" She said, almost as if she were expecting the roots to understand her.

Apparently, they did seem to know what she was saying. They shrunk back to wrap themselves around the package, and lifted it across the roots to Suzu, where she bowed slightly in thanks.

"Arigatou." She said cheerfully to the plants, as she grasped the cloth and resumed her dragging, but she didn't get very far until she felt the weight of the box being slightly lessened. She turned around to see that the roots underneath her had been poking up as she passed over them to help her pull the tea set. She giggled happily and resumed the search for a suitable tea party venue.

She looked up at the still cheerfully chattering birds, and smiled, but then noticed something else. The leaves were moving, but there was no wind.

She stopped walking and stared into the highest branches of the canopy, seeing all the leaves spin and shake as if being blown, but not in one direction. It was sort of like an electric current was making all the leaves rattle and stand on end excitedly. She turned to the nearest tree trunk, and tentatively places her small hand on the roughly grooved bark. As she touched it, there was a rumbling sensation all the way up it's huge form. She could feel it's exuberant emotions as it made an excited groaning sound, resonating from where her hand was, all the way to every leaf. It was almost like the sound of a tree right before falling. It was creaking as it swayed from side to side, basking in Suzu's attention.

Apparently the tree's happiness didn't go unnoticed by it's neighbors. All the trees seemed to be creaking as they started to sway joyfully. The sound and sight of a million leaves fluttering against each other like great oceans of flat emerald-toned paper reminded Suzu of a swarming mass of green butterflies. Butterflies that sounded like the fast rushing of water.

Combined with the birds jubilant song, and the sighs and groans of the tree's trunks, the whole forest became like one big creature. Everything was pulsing with excitement and joy and a feeling of happiness. All of the living things were acting and feeling as a single great organism, whom Suzu had apparently just stepped into the insides of.

So, being accompanied by the forest itself, Suzu continued on the small path for only about two more minutes until she had reached the place she assumed these things were taking her to.

It was a little sunny clearing. There were big blotches of emptiness in the canopy above, breaking the shadow every so often, and allowing the grass and flowers there to grow. Little blue flowers dotted the grassy patch, and the place was obviously a home for the animals, too.

Suzu had never been allowed to touch anything but dog and some cats before, so she was very apprehensive when two gray rabbits with large velvet ears came to greet and sniff her. She let out an almost inaudible whimper as one of them sniffed the hem of her dress, but then decided that they were not going to hurt her so she slowly bent down and stroked their ears. She was surprised that they didn't bounce away. Her father always told her that most animals were afraid of people, so trying to pet them would be a bad idea. These bunnies were not afraid at all!

She wondered why not as many people liked this place. She was having a wonderful time!

Suzu grinned and made her way to the center of the clearing with her wrapped box in hand. It was the perfect place to have her first forest tea-party!

She untied the box and sloppily laid out the furoshiki as a little blanket. she slowly opened the box to stare at the china once again, and was pleased that nothing was broken.

She got on her hands and knees and turned around to look at the bunnies. They both came close to her face as she leaned down to look at them on eye-level. She didn't know if they would understand her like the roots seemed to, but she tried anyways.

"Hajimemashite, Usagi-san." She greeted. "Do you have any friends who want some tea?"

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so, yeah. I'll explain the terms when I get a chance, but you can ask me in a review if you'd like! I don't know when i'll have a chance,

If something else is confusing, ask or i'll never know/fix it!

So, you can review if you'd like to bash or compliment or advise me! I'm open to anything!


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